Network Structure of Water Policy Innovations by Local Governments

Technical knowledge about what can and should be done to manage policy problems often outpaces political actions that translate this knowledge into practical policy solutions. Closing this gap between knowledge and action is a matter of promoting learning—that is, when stakeholders and decision-makers hone their ability to deal with complex problems by drawing upon diverse sources of information, developing common understandings of problems to be addressed, and collectively produce innovative policy solutions. This is particularly true in complex, multidimensional, and ideologically-charged policy issues such as the sustainable management of water resources. It is widely understood that learning requires collaboration within networks that link together actors with diverse knowledge, skills, interests, and political authority. This belief is woven throughout an emerging literature on policy networks, yet within this literature are a number of crucial unanswered empirical questions. Most importantly, we still lack a clear understanding of how particular structural properties of networks support innovation and learning, nor do we understand how institutions may be designed to steer networks towards more desirable structures. This paper addresses both of these questions, using as an empirical context water management practices by local governments within the State of Arizona, USA. Various forms of intergovernmental collaboration on water sustainability issues are estimated from surveys of local government decision-makers representing 117 municipalities in Arizona. A combination of regression models and exponential random graph models are used to analyze the structural properties of the network and the relationship between network structure and policy innovation. We find that local governments in the region actively collaborate with one another on water policy issues, and the tendency towards innovation is higher for more central actors than for more peripheral actors. Moreover, the formation of ties is explained by perceptions that local governments face shared problems. This paper explores the implications of these findings for the design of collaborative institutions to promote more effective knowledge networks.